The process of desalting water to create fresh water is not a new idea, it has been used for centuries by civilizations around the world. By boiling salt water and collecting the steam, the simplest of men could have fresh water from the oceans. Although the process has become much more refined, virtually all desalinization techniques require enormous amounts of energy, enormous amounts of labor in maintenance, and they all create, as a by-product, enormous amounts of concentrated brine pollutants that must be disposed of. With all of the requirements of energy and maintenance along with the problem of pollutants it has become costly to produce fresh water from seawater. Reverse osmosis has been an approach that utilizes a membrane that allows water to pass through with very little salinity. Even though membrane technology continues to improve, it will always require energy, maintenance, and waste disposal.
There is a long-felt need for a water desalinization device that uses only passive energy sources including solar, wind, and wave energy to deliver a continuous source of fresh water without any measurable waste product.